Promise Me
by Let'sMakeThisLastForever
Summary: Reunited centuries later, and given a second chance at life and love together, Cathy and Heathcliff are reborn and now must fight all obstacles-even each other-in order to regain the love they lost so many years ago. Rating changed to "M" for future chapters, 1-4 are "T"
1. Hope

**Hello! ****This is the story of Wuthering Heights, in modern day America (gotta write about something I understand). Cathy and Heathcliff have been reborn, rewired, and totally revamped! Same plot, minor and major changes throughout. **Spoiler** I hate sad endings, and when I read Wuthering Heights for the first time I cried out of frustration and sorrow, and thought 'I'm changing things, this cannot end this way!'**

**I hope that I am able to honor Emily's characters and provide the readers here with an entertaining love story that's all Emily's words, but totally my idea.**

**Enjoy!**

*******disclaimer-I own nothing, except for the laptop I type on.**

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><p>It was a beautiful summer night, the air was cool and calm. A cold front was coming in, and the hot and tired people were already grateful for the break from the merciless sun. It was the perfect night for a party.<p>

Lights were hanging up everywhere, illuminating the pool area and barbeque pit. Three boys ran around laughing and chasing each other by the horses and cows, while their fathers discussed football games and drank and the mothers continued their idle gossips by the pool.

Hidden away from the festivities of the party, in the study of the man whose wife was hosting the party, were Henri and Kara.

There was no denying their attraction and immediate friendship. Henri was an eager 10 year old boy, excited to try new things and explore. Even though they were separated by three years in age, Kara had no problem keeping up with him.

"I see you lost your first tooth," Henri said with a smile as they entered the study and sat down on the leather sofa. Kara's father was an accountant for a major hospital chain and his office space was very luxurious and calming, complete with comfortable furniture, books and shelves of paperwork, and a desk with a private laptop.

"I look so dorky!" Kara replied with a mock lisp and an embarrassed smile, slouching down into the sofa.

"Ha-ha, well what did the tooth fairy bring you?" he asked, even though he'd never believed in such a creature.

"A dollar," she said with a small shrug. "Harrison wanted to trade it for a frog, I almost gave it to him, but I bought a ribbon instead."

"What a lousy trade, I would've beaten him until he gave you your dollar back," Henri never cared for Kara's older brother, Harrison, for he treated Henri with obvious contempt and irritation.

"You're a better brother to me than Harrison could ever be," she patted his shoulder and sat up. "But you don't need to beat him up over it," she kissed his cheek without hesitation, then regretted her movements and quickly pulled away, embarrassed. "I don't know why he dislikes you so much."

"Someday Kara," Henri said quietly, with a soft smile. "I'm going to marry you." A giant, smile covered Kara's face.

Their friendship was gentle, exciting, and almost magic.

Finally, the fathers noticed the absence of their loud children, and called them outside for dinner.

After the barbeque, Harrison's friend left with his family, but not before throwing rocks at Henri and Kara. So Henri picked up a decent sized stone and chunked it back to them. It hit Harrison's friend straight in the forehead and he fell to the ground like a tree when a lumberjack chops it down.

Henri and Kara ran off laughing hysterically while Harrison yelled for the parents.

Eventually, Henri and his family bid their farewells, his lasted longest with Kara, who hugged him tightly.

Henri was asleep in the back of the car, when a drunk driver crashed into them, instantly killing his parents. He woke up in the hospital three days later, unaware of his parent's untimely deaths. When the nurse came in to tell him the news, Kara's father appeared, looking grave and worn out. His eyes were bloodshot, from lack of sleep and mourning, and he told Henri that he was welcome to live with him and his family. That there was plenty of room in their house and heart, that-legally-Henri could move in with them, if he chose to.

Since Henri had no other immediate family, and no other choice than to move into an orphanage or foster care, he accepted. The fact that he'd see Kara, all day everyday, only resolved his mind further.

While he spent the next few hours in the hospital, waiting for Mr. Evans to fill out paperwork, he played with the green cast on his arm. Unable to feel anything, physically and emotionally.

Mr. Evans, Kara's dad, helped Henri pack up all his belongings over the next few days, while Mrs. Evans tried to contact family members and prepare a funeral.

Kara greeted him before her father even parked his car at the house, colliding into Henri like a mountain. After he cried out in pain, she backed off and tried once again to embrace him. This time, she was mindful of the cuts and bruises on his face, and his broken arm.

A toxic mix of feelings ran through her. First, joy and happiness at Henri's presence and the prospect of living with him. But also fear and immense sorrow for his loss. Her tears were of mixed origins.

At the funeral, Mr. Evans gave a wonderful eulogy. He praised and venerated Henri's parents with the highest of regards and love.

Henri neither spoke nor ate for months. Finding his only sanctuary with Kara and the horses. She would often times bring him food during the night, when his nightmares acted up, and ended up spending the rest of the evening in bed with him. Sometimes they would talk, other times they just found peace in each others presence.

Kara believed his silence was derived from his sorrow and gentle heart, but were actually a result of his temper and violence.

"You haven't cried," she said to him one night.

"I can't," he replied quietly.

"Why not?" she asked without thought. "I'd never be able to stop crying. You're much stronger than I am." She rolled over on his bed and looked at him. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, deep in thought.

"That's why I need you," his words caught Kara off guard. "You are much kinder and compassionate than I am. You see joy where I only see problems, you feel when I only exist."

"I couldn't exist without you,"

Harrison gave him hell for a whole year before finally being shipped off to military school. He was a few years older than both Henri and Kara, and had a reputation in town of being the 'bad boy'. So Mr. Evans felt it best to get Harrison away from the drugs and direction that the boy's life was heading in.

Harrison's exile, by the father whom he'd felt abandoned by, only created more hatred and contempt towards Henri.

"You need to eat more," Kara pleaded one morning in late spring when they were out feeding the horses. "You going to get sick and die, Henri." She readjusted her beanie and gloves, and pulled her purple scarf around her neck to keep warm.

"I'll be fine," he replied solemnly.

"Come with me," she dropped her empty feeding bucket, shook the grain remnants off her hands and long black plaid skirt, and grabbed Henri by the hand, leading him into the woods that surrounded the back of the house.

She led him past the barn and trees, until they reached a clearing. There was a small creek that ran through the field, the sound of the rippling waters was hypnotic and relaxing.

"I found this a few weeks ago," she said, letting go of his hand. "I come here to get away from Harrison sometimes." She sat down on a big rock by the stream, and wrapped her arms around herself. Even though she was in a long sleeved shirt, a sweater, and had shorts on under her skirt, she still shivered.

Henri said nothing, but sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap.

"You can come here too now, if you'd like," her attempts at distracting him from his pain gave him a strange feeling in his chest, by his left rib cage. A feeling he could only interpret as hope.

"Thank you," he said finally, finally looking away from the young girl and towards the scene. "It's perfect."

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! I recently travelled to England with my familiy and fell in love with the country and its culture. Which, of course, provoked this mad craze I have for English literature and art now. My favorite being the story of a dark and wrathful, Heathcliff, and his tragic lover, Cathy.<strong>

**I move in to college in less than two days, but plan to post a second chapter soon!**


	2. Harrison

**Chapter Two: Harrison**

**I am SO SORRY this took so long! College has completely drained me of any inspiration and I'm just now regaining my creative thoughts and day dreams for this story. I know it's rather short, but I hope the next chapter makes up for it :) thank you for all the continued support and reviews!**

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><p>It was strange, adjusting to life without Harrison. Kara found herself missing her brother more than she'd expected and couldn't understand why.<p>

She wrote a letter to him once a week, mindful to hide them from Henri who would surely be upset at the mention of her estranged brother. For years Kara wrote to Harrison, with no reply or letter in return.

Since she was only nine years old when Harrison was sent away, she didn't have the best calligraphy…or grammar…or spelling, and while Harrison would never admit this to his family, or anyone else for that matter, it meant the world to him when he would receive a letter. But because of his hereditarily stubborn and selfish nature, he never wrote back.

After a while of her brother's silence, Kara began to write less and less through the years. By the time she was 13, she'd stopped completely. There were some days when she was glad he was gone, her anger fueled by his silence... Other days, when she'd had a particularly tough day or Henri was acting weird, all she wanted was the comfort of Harrison's awkward hugs and ironic jokes to ease her stress.

Occasionally, a letter would arrive to inform the family of his welfare and educational progress, but nothing more.

Kara would always beg her father to know how Harrison was doing and if he'd be allowed home soon. Her father gave her a shrug or sad smile and say that while Harrison was healthy and well, he would not be allowed home for a very long time.

Mr. Evans knew more about his son's condition than he'd led on.

In the five years that Harrison had spent at the military academy, he'd tried running away 13 times and got caught with illegal paraphernalia on just as many occasions. In Mr. Evans mind, his son deserved nothing. Mr. Evans' blatant disregard for building a decent relationship with his own son made Harrison act out even more and furthered his resentment towards Henri and the rest of his estranged family.

Eventually, his resentment and anger fueled Harrison to success. He began to actually try in his classes, excelling in foreign interpretations and linguistics and physical combat. He swore that one day, he would come back home and prove to his father that he was worthy of love and respect. He would ruin Henri's life, take away all that Henri treasured and loved, and run him out of town and out of Kara's life…forever.

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><p><strong>I know this was super super short, but the next chapter will be up soon, I promise. First semester of college has really taken a toll on me, sorry for the delay, my muse has been hibernating apparently, but it's back now :) Thanks again for the support, whenever I'm having a crummy day I love getting emails that say someone reviewed or added my story to their faveupdate list, it's very encouraging and inspiring! LOVE YOU ALL!**


	3. Summer

**Back to back chapters! I'll be honest, this is probably the only time this will ever happen. I truly hope you enjoy reading this chapter, I know I enjoyed writing it. I also hope that it makes up for the pathetic last chapter. Much more Heathcliff/Cathy dynamics explained and developed. YAY!**

**ALSO***just to clear some things for previous and future chapters.**

**Heathcliff-Henri**

**Cathy-Kara**

**Edgar-Ethan**

**Isabelle-Yvonne**

**If you have anymore questions please message me and I'll be sure to clear them up as I go along!**

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><p><em>"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war…"<em>

As winters faded into summers, and leaves changed their colors as the ocean tides changed, Henri barely noticed anything in the world…apart from Kara.

He undoubtedly loved her, even though he was becoming a man, reaching 18 years and she was only 14 and still childish in many ways-naïve and foolish in her thinking and reasoning. It wasn't a sexual love, because that would be very inappropriate and perverse.

Not to say he wasn't a passionate man, as he'd always had a dangerous passion inside him, but rather his love stemmed from a more dormant place in his heart. His love for Kara could only be described as agape-a love the Greeks defined as unconditional and more true and pure than the fabled "true love" of fairytales.

While they were growing up side by side, one could hardly notice the changes in Kara's physical appearance, but Henri noticed everything about her. As children, Kara had always been average looking at best. Short mousy brown hair, teeth that were slightly too big for her face, occasional acne breakouts, and a less than average body size-but still Henri adored her.

Up until the summer after 8th grade, Kara had been below the radar of any of her peers. Even though she maintained stellar grades, achieving academic excellence and recognition, and was a star athlete on the volleyball team. Nobody cared, and neither did she.

Of all the things that came together to form Kara's life, personal appearances never mattered. She couldn't however, prevent such things from mattering to other people, like her parents.

The summer before her freshman year, Mrs. Evans started a home-makeover for her only daughter, determined to give her a good experience in high school. Kara began taking etiquette classes and receiving weekly facials from a lady her mom met at the gym where she worked as a personal trainer. Shed gotten a little out of shape during the off-season of volleyball, but quickly bounced back into a slender and curvy mature body. Her once dull brown hair grew and became a darker, more sultry shade with dark red undertones which really brought out the golden flecks in her bright brown eyes.

Slowly, but surely, Kara's mentality changed along with her appearance. Henri of course didn't like it.

"What is happening to you?" he demanded one day after a month of silence. Kara was used to his silent spells, falsely chalking it up to his eternal sorrow of the loss of his parents, rather than his perpetually angry spirit.

As her body grew in appeal and maturity, she naturally became more confident and independent on her own and distancing away from Henri. She didn't really even notice her growing distance because of his continued silence, she just assumed he'd come back around like he always had before. While Henri hated the changes he noticed in her personality, he couldn't deny the growing attraction he felt for her physically. He'd never been physically attracted to any girl before, he'd never cared to notice and why should he? The one woman he knew he wanted was with him always, he simply had no interest even looking at other females.

"Excuse me?" Kara couldn't hide her emotions, as Henri had blatantly affected her with his harsh tone. Her whole life, Kara had been in awe of how handsome Henri was. His skin was naturally olive-toned all year round, and flawless of course. His eyes were a strange dark hazel that reminded Kara of the sky after a bad storm, his eyes always betrayed how he was feeling. They could be as green as the moss that grew on the trees on their farm during the spring, and in an instant they could grow dark and cold when he was upset.

"I miss you, Kara" Henri said with a bitter taste in his mouth, he'd never actually admitted to missing anyone, and he wanted to kick himself for actually saying it to her without thinking first. "You're changing. You're becoming different, I don't like it."

Kara's pain quickly faded when she realized what his words really meant. He's felt abandoned by his parents his whole life, the only person who has stayed by him consistently through the years was Kara, and when he felt her growing apart he didn't know how to react. She's the only family he remembers, the only one he cares for.

"I'm sorry Henri," she reached her hand up to touch his neck and rubbed her thumb along his cheek. Quietly, oh so quietly, she said "I'm not going anywhere,"

"Promise me," he snatched her hand off his face and held on to her tightly.

"Cross my heart," she stood up on her toes to playfully kissed the tip of his nose and with a smirk said, "I challenge you to a race."

The grin on his face matched hers, and for the first time in months, they raced each other on their horses all across the Evans' farm land, laughing and flirting like nothing had ever been wrong.

Even when Henri showed no verbal or physical signs of distress, Kara always knew how to calm him and make him happy again.

_One day, back when she was in 7__th__ grade and he was a freshman playing his last soccer game for the season, an opposing player tripped him and he landed face first unto the hard ground, losing the ball and the game._

_Something snapped and the beast inside nearly came out, baring his teeth as he slowly rose from the earth, he pushed his teammates off him as they tried to help him up, and made his way straight to the jerk who'd clipped him._

_Kara knew exactly what he wanted to do, even before he stood up, and she raced down the bleachers to the field and yelled for him to come over to her._

"_Please Henri!" she cried. "Just come home, he's not worth it!"_

_People assumed she was his little sister, but the way he kissed her forehead when he turned away from the fight he wanted to start and reached to her only confused those who noticed. It was a lingering kiss, Henri closed his eyes and breathed deeply smelling her pomegranate shampoo and holding her close to him, before finally letting go and rejoining his team in the locker room._

It was hard for Kara not to notice the way other girls looked at Henri. The way they smiled at him, waved their little fingers at him in 'hello'… There was something undeniably attractive and captivating about his appearance. Perhaps it was in the darkness of his stare, often mistaken for intensity and deep thought, giving him the 'tall dark silent' conception.

Kara felt inadequate next to him, small and insignificant... All she wanted was to feel like she deserved to just stand next to him.

The last night before high school started, Henri and Kara sneaked out of their rooms late at night to go to their old secret meeting place, just as they had done every other night that summer and years before when Harrison was around.

Henri held Kara's hand closely as they quietly ran to the edge of the trees and into the darkness. The moonlight barely reflected off the stream, and the night was cool despite the heat from the day.

They sat down by the water, Henri leaded back against the large rock as Kara sat in the middle of his legs and rested against his firm chest. He wrapped his strong arms around her and brought his face closer to hers and kissed her hair and her cheeks as they sat in silence. Kara stared at the stars as Henri gently caressed and kissed her bare shoulders and palms, sometimes closing her eyes to relish in his touch.

"Have you done this with other girls?" she asked Henri straight forwardly. Her question made him chuckle.

"No." He continued to kiss her neck before she pulled slightly away from him to face him better.

"I - " Henri stopped her speech with his own mouth, grabbing her neck and pulling her face towards his. It the first time he'd ever kissed her on the lips.

Kara instantly wrapped an arm around his neck to bring him closer to her. Not satisfied, Henri picked her up and placed her in a semi-straddle on his lap. Her own butt was still on the earth, and their pelvises did not touch, but it allowed for their chests to collide and arms to wrap around each other.

Their kiss was like golden fire. So pure and passionate, so intense and shattering.

Both knowing that they couldn't take it any further, they finally ended their kiss and Kara fell into his chest trying to catch her breath as his arms pulled her tighter into him.

Kara could hear Henri's pounding heart, just as she could feel her own. Though the beats weren't in sync, they were both racing with velocity and excitement. Henri kissed her head and whispered gently into her ear, "I love you, Kara."

Not sure of what she'd heard, Kara sat up and looked him in the eyes. "Do you promise?"

"With all my heart," his gaze didn't falter, he voice didn't shake. Kara bit her bottom lip nervously, but did not look away from his deep green eyes.

"I love you, Henri."

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><p><strong>WOW, I stayed up all night typing this. I just couldn't stop, I feel so accomplished haha<strong>

**For the record, I listened to "Kiss Me Slowly" by Parachute and "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional while I wrote this, I highly recommend listening to those two songs on repeat while you reread this.**

**I hope this makes up for last chapter! I definitely didn't spell check, or do a grammar search as diligently as I usually do, please excuse any inconsistencies or errors.**


	4. Winter's Bitter Kiss

_**I cannot believe how long this has taken me to update this story. I love getting your feedback on this story, so I hope you all enjoy this lengthy chapter and forgive me for making you wait so long!**_

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><p>"<em>May my heart be kind, my mind fierce, and my spirit brave."<em>

High school was so exciting for Kara. She loved the trips in the halls in between each class and seeing all these new faces. She wanted to be …well, popular wasn't the right word for it, but she wanted to be _known,_ to stand out. To be well liked and adored by the student body. Her mom helped sign her up for advanced classes and a few good electives (art and choir, just for fun), not including already being on the freshman volleyball team. There was an air about Kara that was brand new and remarkable. She was happier than ever. She'd already made friends from her morning English class; a mousey and frail sort of girl named Elle, and a prettier, but still rather plain, blonde girl named Yvonne.

High school was so dull for Henri. He never spoke a word during classes and kept to himself, maybe had two or three friends he'd talk to during the week. To Henri, his life would be a success as long as he could go through high school unknown. He'd even quit soccer when he felt he was featured in the yearbook too much. And now he was starting to think that Kara was getting too popular and his record of obscure invisibility.

A few weeks went by, and then a month, and Kara had seen Henri all of five times, and all meetings ended disastrously. Kara was beginning to think that Henri was embarrassed to be seen around her, which made no fucking sense since the school seemed to love their new freshman setter. Even Mr. Popularity Ethan Locke (Yvonne's older brother) had taken a liking to Miss Kara Evans.

Everyone loved Ethan and all the girls wanted to be his girlfriend – a few guys did too – and Kara had no hard time seeing why. He was very handsome, in a very Ken doll/All-American sort of way. Kara found herself more and more drawn to him every time she saw him in the halls. He had an amazing smile, so genuine and charming, his bright blue eyes were cheerful and lively, and he had a great head of sandy blonde hair. Kara was starting to feel guilty though and didn't want Yvonne to think she used her to get to Ethan. She almost tried to go a whole day without talking to Ethan, just so Yvonne wouldn't get the wrong idea, but then she didn't want Ethan to get the wrong idea either.

'But wait, what the hell even is the idea?' She shook her head and just went back to her casual flirting with Ethan during lunch.

Henri was starting to worry about Kara getting her little head caught in the cloud of Mr. Perfect's flirting ways and it got worse for him when he actually saw Ethan flirting with Kara in the hall before final period. His hands curled into fists as he calmly walked up towards them.

"Ethan," Henri put his hands into his jean pockets to better relax and prevent him from punching Ethan Locke right in the face.

"Henri," Ethan nodded up at him. The boys were both equal height at 6'3, but Henri packed way more muscle than the slender, and almost lanky, forward for the Varsity soccer team. "Coach is still ticked at you for quitting the team." The two boys had been teammates, friends even, before this year when they played together on the soccer team.

"How darling," he dismissed Ethan's remarks without second thought. "Kara, can I talk to you?"

"*gasp*!" Kara mocked an excited expression. "You can see me now?" Ethan chuckled at Kara's attempt at sarcasm, which Kara of course mistook as him laughing at her wit.

Henri just tugged her gently away from Ethan. He needed to send a message to Ethan, and he also knew he could take advantage of Kara's young heart, so he began to brush hairs behind her ears and then wrapped his arms around her in a steady hug. Then he whispered in her ear, but never took his eyes off Ethan, Henri got a kick out seeing how uncomfortable he was with watching his crush embrace another man so tenderly.

"I really miss you," Henri finally said to Kara, and she smiled for she'd missed him a lot too.' Strange how two people can be so close, and yet sometimes feel like strangers,' she thought. "After school, I want to take you out, on a date. A _real _date."

His words totally took Kara aback, and she even broke away from the hug to just stare at Henri in pure confusion and skepticism. Finally the pieces began to register and she realized he was acting this way out of jealousy for her being close to Ethan. This of course, was a false realization, Henri knew he was just being controlling and manipulative of Kara's heart.

"Um, that would be great," her words were slow and even though she was agreeing verbally because her mind wasn't processing quite right, she was walking backwards because her heart knew better.

Henri walked away as the tardy bell rang and Kara awkwardly said bye to Ethan before rushing to her Algebra class with Elle; where the girls would over analyze Henri's words and discuss Kara's options.

Luckily – or unfortunately – for Kara, that date with Henri never materialized.

This sort of banter went on and on between the trio. Always starting with Ethan being genuine and caring and flirty towards Kara, then Henri would be jealous and send mixed signals to Kara so that she'd be reluctant around Ethan's advances but never enough for Kara to have a definitive name on the relationship, and always ending with Kara being torn between the two men.

One day, Kara came home after a volleyball game to discover a bouquet of beautiful and colorful flowers on the table next to a note that just said, "You were a rock star today, xoxo Ethan". She placed the flowers on her desk in her room and sent pictures to all her friends boasting of her man crush.

Henri, of course, would take things one step further with his flirting. He would make more personal gifts for Kara. In his shop class, instead of building a rocking horse that would be donated to the Children's Hospital like he was supposed to do, he spent the week in class building a chandelier for Kara to hang in her bedroom. He knew she loved old and ostentatious ornaments and this chandelier would send her little heart aflutter.

Which of course it did.

When Ethan asked her to homecoming, Henri made dinner and played the piano for her and danced with her – something he NEVER did. When Ethan asked her to see a new movie, Henri had a home movie night and got her favorite candy and cuddled close to her. It was a tricky dance they played, and a tangled web the boys weaved around young Kara's impressionable heart.

After a few months of this, both boys were properly frustrated and wanted Kara to make a choice about who she wanted to be with more.

Ethan was too much of a gentleman to say anything upfront about it, and Henri was too proud to admit he realized that Kara was worth being recognized around school – that he'd missed her so much and didn't want to lose her, even to Good Guy Ethan Locke, that he'd give up his sweet solitary just so he could keep her.

It was this pride though, and the subsequent silence that accompanied it, that confused Kara into believing Henri was just a jealous jerk, who only wanted something the second it was unavailable. Well, she would show him unavailable.

'How does falling in love with Ethan sound?' She thought bitterly and surely one fateful morning before school.

For nearly five months this deep and complex game of winning Kara's heart had gone on. She felt like she was in the middle of a tug of war with a thick rope wrapped tightly around her waist, and each time one of the boys pulled too hard, she felt the rope tighten and her stomach ache and her lungs fail, and while she was always happy in the moments with her boys, she couldn't help but miss the other one and doubt her own heart.

Relief washed over her as she saw his bright blue eyes in the hall that morning, right where they always were, as constant as the sun rising, she knew Ethan would be there to greet her. The days were getting particularly cold and bitter as they headed closer to winter, it made Kara really appreciate the reliability and sturdiness of Ethan's temperament.

That day after school, Kara invited Ethan over to watch a movie; both of her parents were out of town for some couple's Christmas retreat, even though Christmas was still two weeks away and Henri had rarely been home the past few weeks, so Kara didn't really worry about him catching her with Ethan, though she wouldn't be too sad if he happened to see Ethan leaving or something.

So they get to her house and start the movie, Kara let him decide and being the all-around good guy he is, he knowingly picked her favorite movie "Crazy, Stupid, Love" and then offered to get popcorn.

Almost at her wits end with this guy, Kara stood next to him and smiled so sweetly before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him once softly on the cheek. Ethan rested his hands on her shoulders and took the opportunity to kiss her back.

In the sharp winter wind, Kara walked steadily towards her horses to feed them early one December morning, just as the sun began to rise in the icy blue sky. Whole body shivering, teeth chattering, she wrapped her hot pink wool shrug tighter around her narrow shoulders and tried her hardest to warm up, mentally telling herself to hurry up and get the grains in the barrels so she could get another hour or so of sleep before classes.

Her shivering was so loud and debilitating that she didn't even hear the harsh footsteps crunching the fallen leaves behind her until a pair of large, warm, arms wrapped around her. One final shiver raced down her spine as she began to warm up and relaxed into the body behind her.

"You're so warm," she finally breathed once Henri wrapped his strong arms around her, she could feel the familiar scratch of his slight scruff and warm cheek on hers and closed her eyes contently.

"I saw you and Ethan kissing yesterday," his words were sharp and stabbed Kara right through her heart.

"Oh?" She would be damned if she showed weakness to Henri. "I guess I didn't think about your feelings, just like how you don't really care about mine." She ripped herself out of his cruel embrace and finished dumping the grains into the feeding troughs and, without even looking at Henri, stepped around his large frame and began her trek back to the house.

"How could you even say that? Why do you even talk to that cock sucker anymore?!" Henri grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him. His anger betraying his love.

"He's nice to me!" She shouted back at him. The tears began to form in her tired eyes and she didn't even care. "He's _kind_, Henri, and he doesn't play stupid …mind games with me! He is constant and beautiful and tender, and that's more than I can say for you." She jerked her hand away and left Henri standing alone in the cold. She didn't bother looking back when she let the screen door slam behind her once she was inside the warm house, but instead ran straight up the stairs to her room and instead of trying to sleep, just turned a hot shower on and let the water run over her frozen skin. It was scalding at first, and even though it nearly felt like she was cooking, she ignored the pain to focus on a greater heartache.

She was losing Henri in more ways than she realized, and she didn't know how to get the man she loved back to her. She hated herself for falling for Ethan, and hated Henri for pushing her away in the first place.

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><p><em><strong>Whew! Finally a new chapter! YAYY! and omg I am sleepy, have a blessed evening friends<strong>_


	5. Kintsukuroi

**Alright friends, the chapter we all wanted**

**Kintsukuroi : "to repair with gold"; the art of repairing pottery with silver or gold lacquer and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken**

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><p>"<em>Her heart sank into her shoes as she realized at last how much she wanted him. No matter what his past was, no matter what he had done. Which was not to say she would ever let him know, but only that he moved her chemically more than anyone she had ever met, that all over men seemed pale beside him." – F. Scott Fitzgerald<em>

During the entire winter break, Kara refused to leave her bed.

She neither slept nor ate. She would just stare, catatonic, at the old photograph of her and Henri as children. She played with the edges of the photo, ran her fingers over the faces that had changed so much in the past year.

She replayed that last conversation with Henri over and over again in her head. Cursing herself for the words she'd left unsaid. Damning him for not coming after her, for never fighting for her, for letting her walk away.

Her body was freezing in her room, and she didn't even bother noticing, she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts.

She knew that if her mother were here, she would never have allowed for her to wallow away in her room like that. But Mr. and Mrs. Evans were on a couple's Christmas retreat in Colorado for the season, and had left Henri and Kara alone in the house.

Kara laughed mockingly to herself. _"What kind of irresponsible parents leave their daughter home alone with a boy? I should get knocked up just to piss them off… As if. We aren't even friends anymore. They have nothing to worry about." _Her thoughts jumped around from anger to sadness until finally she fell asleep.

When she woke, she felt warm and cozy, and though she didn't want to open her eyes she also didn't want to go back to the dark, dream-less sleep where Henri did not exist.

She felt the body next to her shift around familiarly, relaxing into his long-forgotten spot next to her and wrapping his arm around her waist, gently pulling her closer to his bare chest.

Unsure whether she was dreaming or wishing or awake, she finally opened her eyes to see a sleeping Henri holding her closely. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and tucked her head under his.

"I've missed you," her voice barely a whisper against his neck, his arm tightened around her small waist and he kissed her head, breathing her in.

"I'm sorry." His tone was soft and kinder than it had been in ages. "For everything." He gently placed his hand at her chin and lifted her head up.

Their eyes locked, brilliant green and striking brown.

It was strange, Kara thought, how he could stop time like that, just by looking at her. What was stranger, was she felt her anger lifting, all her knotted up tensions relaxing and calming into the softness of his breathing.

This was the problem; she could never stay mad at him. She loved him too much and she remembered just how much she loved him in the simple moments like this. The moments that happened naturally and sometimes by accident. When Henri wasn't showing off or trying too hard.

She knew he also wouldn't make the first move, and something was stirring inside her, something she'd never felt before. So she leaned in slowly, but surely, before closing her eyes and resting her lips on his.

It took him a second to respond. As if he were paralyzed, he could not break himself from his stare on Kara, and he did not want to interrupt her or risk making her change her mind about the kiss. When he did kiss back, he kissed in a way he'd never kissed her before.

He was tender and passionate all at once. His hand held her neck so that his fingers were tangled in her massive hair, but so his thumb could graze her cheek, and he held on dearly to her, savoring her touch and her taste.

Kara needed more. Never having gone past a kiss with either Henri or Ethan, she allowed herself to follow her desires, to do whatever came naturally. She moved her arm so that she could pull his body closer to her own. She wrapped her arm under the one of his that was holding her face, and placed her fingertips along the inside his shoulder blade.

She pulled on him until he was halfway on top of her. He put his leg in between hers and gently nudged them apart. Kara trailed her fingertips all along his back, feeling the muscles and the faint scars from where Harrison used to beat him as a child. Horrified at the memory of Harrison throwing rocks at young Henri, she deepened her kiss and held his face in her hands.

Realizing she felt the scars he'd always hidden, he broke their kiss for a moment to look at her. She smiled softly at him, silently apologizing for the actions of her older brother. Silently apologizing for all the times he'd been hurt or sad. Henri's mind was not on his scars or his past, all he could think of was how beautiful Kara was. How perfect her lips were and how brightly her eyes shined in the dim light of her bedroom.

Kara could tell he was staring at her lips, and when he bent down to kiss her again she felt her heart tug against her chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Henri had honestly not expected this when he got in bed with her that night. All he wanted was to remember what they were like before things got complicated. Before Kara met Ethan, before Henri messed up.

Then he saw the old photograph she clutched to her heart. It was one of them on their horses when they were children. It was hard for him to look at that picture, until he realized that's all Kara had been doing. He gently pulled the crumbled photo out of her hand, and set it on her nightstand. He pulled the blanket up around the both of them and kissed her on the cheek before drifting off to sleep next to her.

Now as she wrapped her arms around his neck, he felt his hunger for her grow. He realized how he wanted her. Not just physically in this moment, but in all moments and in every way. He wanted her mind, her voice, her soul, her words, her heart, her future. He finally realized and understood everything she'd ever wanted.

Their kisses were like fireworks, Kara decided. They were amazing. Fiery. Passionate. She opened her mouth and let her tongue tease his lips. He did not hesitate to taste her back. His tongue was in her mouth and played around with her tongue skillfully.

Slowly, he worked his hand off her waist and up inside her shirt. Kara gasped lightly at his touch as he made his way to her breast. He was gentle at first, memorizing the shape and feel of her before squeezing sensually.

Kara moaned into his mouth and relished his touch as he kept massaging her until she grew tender.

Finally he could not take it anymore, and he stopped their kiss only to pull her shirt off. It was a soft long-sleeved shirt that came up over her head easily. Henri paused to appreciate her bare breasts. Kara instantly grew bashful and wanted to hide herself.

"You," he breathed. "Are so beautiful." The way he stared at her, made her feel confident and sexy and desired.

He held her face again as he kissed her, careful not to touch her bare chest right away. He slowly lowered himself on her, their bare chests colliding and touching completely.

He loved the way her soft breasts felt against his chest, how soft and firm her skin was.

She loved the warmth that radiated from his flesh and thawed her still cold body.

Kara could feel herself getting wetter and worried if that was a good thing, but she didn't worry for long before Henri's kisses captured her attention again as he moved his hand to her hips.

She instinctually spread her legs, inviting Henri further down. He slipped his hand through the waistband of her sweats and didn't waste any time to feel her wetness. His fingers were drenched as he slowly and carefully slid one then two fingers inside her. Kara closed her eyes and lost herself in the rhythm of his pumps. The pressure building inside both of them as he warmed her up.

"Henri," she moaned faintly into his chest. "Please." She couldn't get a sentence out, but she wanted him inside her for real. He understood and obliged happily taking his pants off.

Kara was impressed by the size of him. Though she had nothing to compare him to, she knew Henri had to be above average. She almost worried about the pain she would feel, but soon disregarded it when Henri placed his tip right up against her.

He engulfed her in a deep and passionate kiss, leaving her breathless and hungry. He looked into her eyes and waited for her to give him a sign. Kara looked at Henri and nodded quickly biting her bottom lip.

The first push inside her was ecstasy. Kara's chest lifted and they both moaned involuntarily as Henri went deeper inside her, filling her and stretching her completely. The pain was amazing and again Kara felt that weight in her heart as Henri grabbed her and kissed her fiercely.

He started slowly, kissing Kara continuously hoping any pain she felt would be dulled by his love. Every now and then she had to catch her breath and would break the kiss for air, only to be captured by his eager lips again.

He started pushing into her faster and faster, her moans becoming soft cries of pleasure. Her hips opened up to feel more of him deeper inside her, and it took all of Henri's will to not release inside her.

He kissed her neck and her chin and drove her crazy. He was just about to burst.

"No," her eyes begged him not to stop, to please, please cum inside her.

Henri knew he shouldn't, he knew the risks involved already without protection, but he also knew what he wanted. This primal and archaic urge took hold of him and he wanted to cum inside her. He wanted it so badly, to claim her as his. To see her face and feel her shake underneath him as he let go.

Kara felt the warmth of him inside her right as she felt her own orgasm.

When he finished, he laid down right beside her and kissed her forehead and her cheeks and her lips wildly, and Kara couldn't help but giggle out of satisfaction and her own shyness.

Henri wrapped both of his arms around her, and pulled her naked body back to his. They allowed their breathing to calm.

"I love you, Kara." His voice was hoarse and soft. Kara couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling. Love, of course, but there was so much more to it now. She was lost and torn between all the things she wanted to say to him. 'I love you too,' seemed so superfluous and yet such an understatement.

"Sometimes, like right now," Kara said finally, choosing her words carefully and deliberately. "I find myself wondering how we became 'us'. And then my heart says we have always been 'us'. You and I. Always together. As if there's never been a moment in all of time where we were ever apart. You move me in ways nothing else does. I love you in ways I can't describe or understand. I have completely fallen for you. In every way. In everything you are, I love you." Henri couldn't stop himself from kissing her again.

And once more, he held her face in his hand like she was the most precious and rare gem in the world.

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><p><strong>And that is it. The end.<strong>

**LOL JK**

**I'll update again soon. Please R&R**


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